davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
CONNECTION IN THE RAT PIT.
Mr.. Billy Michigan and Several Terriers As.
tonlsh the Uninltlated.
From the Bu6dlo Courier.

Whispers had been floating around for the
past few days that there was to be a rat baiting
match At Jimmy on Tuesday night. It was q
f r she si mo snd re seS PrHsrs stgIe. N Tas the Sa eentrs out Ut
and four feet high. This was the battle, ground
who had hitherto been impervious alike to the
allurements Of u twenty-cent trap and accom-
p%anying cheese. and tho too often watery depths
OF Dug's dive. On In one corner was o big
iron cage. containing, probably 200 rats. and
every one of them looked as II he had been q
looking IS,ff lef v var shSas' and ndi' It aim almost sts gave ,t a @an
snakes to observe the, way, they writhed,
twisted, turned, and chewed, to get out OF
t boys ee Cooled Sa do aspv %hsn Bili Gn N III Rnr Of z Ro che
ester said that this was due solely to their I'M
SHOWED af,oa;t.d' them nth that n be was on a9t the closest osesi terms n4as
Of intimacy with them. and clearly lemon:
strnted that there was not q rat in the 200 that
couldn't call, him by name. Occasionally Billy
opened the door OF the cage. slowly thrust his
bare hand among the 200, and. selecting a long
turned the rat around three or four times rap
idly. after which he laid 1t on his arm or against
bis cheek. as i t were a pet kitten. The rat
t 4nsy .I Biiiya a re- 9 9oa as f%u Gye ay % on say syen An.
ally acknowledged that Billy was authority
Finally the the time arrived Tor the fun to begin.
and Bill y took out about fifteen Of his friends.
the Hs,I rodePts; and droprsd them into the PIT;
Nellie was looking closely to the style Of archi-
lecture Of any particular rat, the others, or
some OF them; mounted her back, bit. and
dog against fifteen rats, but Nellie fixed 'cm in
mighty short order. Mr.. Kiefer,s dog; Fix, also
did up about tho same number. Phil. Kill
courses fox terrier was then given a whirl, and
he made things hun while he got away with q
party. Phil. Connells bull dog came next.
twenty, but after killing one Of them Jumped
out Of the pit. Pat Maloney's Victoria did her
number In great style, and Jimmy Wilson's
Grid took care Of a gang in a way that was
rough on rats. Jimmy Carroll's dog also went
through Il crowd in short order. In this way
turn about. and tho pit for a couple OF
hours was a red hot snort. Tho dogs fought
crazy with fright and sailed in to win. Before
the sport came to an end upward of 100 were
disposed OF. and the bows vent nXaY hnppY.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25

streySd from its enclosure, got on the little y.
andW. track apd was run oyer and Killed By
s sSeS Sa tse t aom aps isa aS r ssas sl tRS value E.a; Of 9 hes
COW. but the suit went against her; She brooded
the eound Of a train passing her house always
set her to mourning nr oyer her ioss; sne d spent
r mssn the St nsa Tms "a an S0s sovsrsi st simss, sv VS aaa,
the watchfulness Of her husband, she placed
herself on the track when a train was apRFCacthti
she she W aas removed e9aess BY ~ f SS%s from the Ssh rafi. UNI"
WI waf K Bsd T0f Il. a aSs fsa iG s4ss. that ssd hi Iss xiis S sas
across tho lot between the house and. the. rail-
was that Of his wife in her night clothes, and
That she was undoubtedly on her way to the
done several times bstoro, Without waiting to
put on his clothes. Wilhelm rushed from the
In the little. strip OF woods. between the lot and
the railroad, and by the time he reached. the
woods he heard the sound Of an approaching
with old Bill King on the engine. and that
meant that this tFaIn was more than
the piees Of woods, and H as he ea Hns out on Tie
other side he saw his wife standing on The track.
MIaSSttn q h SIs h RiPIss up Ios snd dGwn; w wsi so the nssr fs sSat
it threw it's glare full on her. Old Bill had seen
the figure In white some distance back, whistled
i s9ad Sss MSs SO an shs ssp' nna the hts n siaSin 50 s SHs sns
that she came tearing right on. The white fg-
ure nevsr moved, and Just as Bill was about
inevitable, another white figure sprang on the
rails Just ahead Of the engine and threw itself
against the one standing there, as II to force II
flsurs Is w and To- Su 1sIsi H mem shs Oh R'liG Into st T.. xo ssts
The train was stopped as soon as possible. and
t Sssk dsa d tas ssep Ui & the ,r al MAN an and PlSsik s %i He
Inc company had them buried. Of course, and
.Bil ! King e n got s, over 1ht that TN nig ;hsn He
signed. ae said he couldn't run that Gram
every, night The thing worked so on his mind
a~fterward. Not long afterward one OF the engi-
neers on the road came into Renfrew one night
With the story that as he was coming dow
peared on the track q hundred yards or so
ahead OF him, and at the same time he felt the
lever jerked from his hand and quickly re-.
two white figures, which disappeared. At the
s ss% Train flm @o tss On 5hf ss Se Tas oDSTH his s ssaln w ans
the same train which was Bill kings I'D
tho tfs'n addition diRs Il that s'i Bill TX King sa had stooaa'in S the
cab as plain as day and reversed the lever and
whistled for brakes; it began to be believed,
place Of fireman on the train. and said I'd like
to see any such stuff as that ghost story scare
mo of. The very first run I made the two
old Bill King stood in the cab and handled the
throttle and the whistle cord until the ghosts
disappeared. and then he was gone. l stuck 1t
some other brave man That was Ave years
ago. l have never beeA on the I. and ". since,
but hear from there once In a while. The
and that Bill Kings ghost is always on land
trying to stop tho train"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
SULLIVAN,S SPARRING TOUR.
Why he MT frat Refused to Box Before tho
Prince OF Wales.
From ne Boston Herald.

From ne Boston Herald.
A letter dated Edinburgh, Scotland, Dec. 7,
has Just been received ut this Office from &c C.
Molske, John L sullivan's advance manager.
pu uThs s OH Bse. ~ y'' loIfiS five an a s1f EajsSsra Il
70 BoStonians to learn that the champion de-.
clipSd to spar for the ediacntion Of the Prince
81 %s'f Is, III Gn aay's sse q aGi t the inyi tnd m' ssn.
dered., The affair had been satisfactorily ar
ranged, and would have taken place without a
shall not name, wedged himself in as master
Of ceremonies. Believing. no would not give
ssatisfaotion, sullivan declined to spar under
you'd box before liis. Royal Highness provided
Mr. mr; pl'ilips WIS selected as master Of cere;
some little time a'S ago for Sullivan II m" to spaa Jsm
Smitbh nj to FrI r9q ~ :, ~ public ths last Of Decem-
objected on the ground that 1ai it would SsihS i ptteEf9Is;
am satisfied that John will never get a shy
the English champion's hackers now fancy Sui
Ivan very much, particularly. since they saw
1 h!n nsrI SaqId at s. join fam SsN.l ha 4ona af Psic EIa|l
and otlior noted sports In England are prepared
to back Sullivan against anybody for any roa-
said TO me: I'm satisfied Sullivan leads them
for a,,; a and Gis partner mr Ash ny Ibs can MIKE NIKE L lively
came to Great Britain several English pagilists
talked OF challenging him, but they have all
been quiet on the subject since the st. James's
The tonr which we have mapped out after
leaving Edinburgh is as follows: Preston, Dec,
Gastle,on;rEne, Dec; 81 and 49, Sunderland,
Dec. 20: Hull, Dec; 80 and 81 and Jan. / North
Jan, 4 and S; Bristol, Jan. 6: plymouth, Jan. 7:
Portsmouth, Jan. 0 and 10. Then We 70 TO
Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Amsterdam, giving
IN training, for his fight with Mitchell. JACK
ashton ansaipn anh Binkeioek win train him, and
battle the party win return to Boston. and
start from there on, q tour through the United
States. The Royal Aquarium engagement OF
Rightly share running close to $3.50. which is
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
THREE STORIES OF GHOSTS.
STRANGE INVITATIONS IN TIE KEY
STONE STATE.
The ehestiy Carpet Weaver OF Pike County
and her Loom.

The Obesity Carpet Weaver OF Pike County
and her Loon.
PORT JERvIs, Dec. 21.-For many years
County Commissioner John Fl. Newman lived
with his wife and family In o secluded SPOT in
Pike county hills, six miles from Milford, in
Dingman township. Newman was q prominent
farmer and Democratic politician. His wife
had u wide reputation as a weaver OF rag car
pet, and the clatter OF her old-fashioned hand
loom was u familiar sound to the few people
who lived In the neighborhood, and attracted
the attention OF travellers over the mountain
road. whether they passed by the Newman
homestead early or late. Three or four years
ago q lot OF carpet rags were shipped to
Mrs. Newman from parties in New York
to be woven Into carpet. A few days
after she received tho rags Mrs. New
man and two or three other members Of
from some injected quarter, Mrs. Newman
man was In bad health at the time Of his wifs's
n %ainds anS 81 2 l his family m9nyn moved sse Pe a S'eS' from ONE the iss
weeks ago, when Jacob Mott and his two daueh-
Sheriff John ". Hoffman, was driving By the
h hn'lf Sor b a aSa sSen mS Sisoo Tas ss MSte s s1SpR Rls
W s% SSssss shs n ssss'sf : y ss rs s iSasSi inquired.
daughters tremblingly repeated their fathers
Listen and ndy voui II hear ns%n the loom en,u a 1 Work tihlmsr
sheriff Hoffman listened, and sure enough the
familiar old clatter OF. Mrs. Newmans carpet
the Stiffness s Of that aea auie t' nei q %iSS 4 years years
ago. The Sheriff was uncomfortable.
,o That's ! Iss the s wy IT, been going ssy VERY night
used to sit and weave. and | believe her ghost
ished. None Of US have had courage to 20 in
the room, or even look In, but there Is no doubt
found. My daughter and I haven't slept in the
house since the ghost began to, weave. The
work iii midnight, when everythin as' bec Or
quiet again. We sit here on the fence and lis.
ten to It a while, and then go to the barn and
Sheriff Hoffman for some reason did not stay
to Investigate the alleged supernatural weav-
perched on the fence and went on home. Since
then many people living in tho ,neighborhood
Of the Newman place, have collected around
stay IN the haunted house becoming unabesr-
Buisit's place. near By. and he has gone to New q
Jersey e s1r to rent ut AZ 4 farm iaau he 1,s says n,t that o besides sides
and while he was standing in his kitchen, he
heard a rustling noise as If a woman were pass
check. That decided him to not only quit the
house with his daughters, but to leave Pike
county as we'll.
Lorin Andrews. ~well-known business man
of Milford, lived on. the Newman place some
years ago. He declares that strange sounds
there, and there is a story that an inmate
Of the house plainly saw in her room one night
the apparition OF q woman with half Of her
head gone. The haunted Newman house has
much interest in Milford. and a party
q citizens. led by Col; {: \. Pine Of the Milford
night and thoroughly investigate the alleged
hand loom and It's operator.
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
Old Bill Kings Wrath and the Double Ap.
partition On the Rail.

II don't suppose there Is another railroad
in tho country that u train hand can get a lob
on 30 easily rs he can on the little =. and W.,
out In the Pennsylvania oil regions" said a
former employee OF that road, now O fire.
man on the Erie. There Is always O chance
there for II raiiroader, whether he's u brake
man. fireman. conductor, or engineer. and
there isn't a nicer road anywhere to work on.
and tho wages are bigger than the biggest.
tls men men a Wh du nre Ei n dl in th9 tb 5,me' a anG sln SnG
never see one who eyer worked on the road be-
i i0r ;o ana tb tHe iTss thing yon know they are call
We boys often run across others out OF q job
want W msn d SsS you 60 on the P. and w.s They
MOP and W. for US, pleased We've been
What's tho matter with the P. and WI"
asked the rep,orter Ar .or..., .m.,-
sa;''' 'wonIdSSH laugh M mneh 10 though nR 'nilfrk yos
should oyer run an engine down Cranberry
stations, with old Bill Kings ghost in tho cab
with You. and trying to stop the train. to keep
i IL lfo ON the fhan fnaet q 1Sst ahead gsp t q yoa sh enrin stand and
steep and slippery, Between Ksenfrsw and. Rel
at Sel Batlsr r Soun as. R9o oRn' # hh sd thoss pWc p tsss
there plain enough, and know that II you
ever took u run GOWN cranberry swamp grade,
Reibold's, with old Bill Kings ghost In the cab
with you. you. wouldn't laugh much.
The way tho road got haunted in that spot
was this; Not far rom the railroad. 1T the foot
OF the CranberrySwamp grade. about ten years
ago. lived an old couple named Wilhelm. They
p pen hS '@ ON = S Soaaic e oi asrss q S aafd ihs' a asi
their COW and poultry yard Tor their living. One
OF the first Jersey COWS In that part of the
been made 2 present TO her by. 9 noted stock
raiser, In Crawford county. Mra Wilhelm
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
The Man In tho Snow storm.

PUNxUTAwNEY, Pa, Dec. Ala citizen OF
this county. who is not only prominent locally,
but is we'll known politically throughout the
State. was present recently where q number Of
persons were ridiculing supernatural or psy-
Geological phenomena, and finally said:
There is no person who is more skeptical
on such matters than I, but I had an expert
ence once that was more than enough to make
supernatural. / could never bring myself to
think. however. that it was anything more than
cognizance or explanation Of any human being.
H aeiasv Tiet0t cn niE E6ts. Sas on m my wax K.y y1 aSy:
vile road. as you all know, leads for some
aist : o through fhat the strs wSSdS; q, and fbe I r %af
%n @o, the safai sare 81 Z RF1 @an ssudd.n fSa app snssd
by a ) aerce fall Of s snow SS' Which h was as 1 apparentiy
The man aSN s.r%es eta ~ slo ) asff fesbi f" ss al M' the
for he seemed to see the strange apparition
too, and STOPPED suddenly, priGked up his ears,
except in the small spaee Surrounding the
calm; / rubbed my eyes ana made up my
the storm was sn optical illusion: |
came back. I shouted again and again. louder
each time, but the struggling figure gave no
response. At last the man fell as III exhausted,
and the snow continued TO fall upon him and
the fierce gale whirled it around him. Know
Ing that If the fallen man WAS drunk he would
freeze to death If / left him lying there, I
jumped from my horse and ran to help him up.
intending to take him to the nearest place Of
Shelter, 1t. was starlight. but in that light
nlone the features OF no person could have
been recognized under the closest scrutiny. l
hurried tothe PROSTATE figure, and rs l reached
1t l saw the face was turned upward. As my
eyes fell on the face I started back
and almost foil fainting in the snow. The
face was revealed In the darkness as plainly as
II 1t had been broad daylight, and il was the
face of my brother. who lived in Dakota. and
1t was his face as a corpse. When / recovered
from the shock the sight had given me and
turned again to tho body 1t was gone. There
was not even an impression In the snow where
1t had lain. Bewildered and much unstrungb by
this singular vision. l finally mounted my horse
and rode on. i gradually recovered my com.
posure. and Mt last convinced myself that l had
BILE hallueination. But slept but little that
letter from the station in Dakota where my
brother was. and which. Informed mo that he
had been caught In "a blizzard while on his way
10 his cabin, and was. overpowered by 1t and
frozen to death. Tho letter gave the time and
date OF his sad death. 1t had occurred the very
hour and night that the apparition OF the man
struggling against, the storm appeared to me
on the Rsynoldsville road, and / recognized my
brothers face az he lay dead In the snow"
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
From the Kansas Gty Tmea

Il saw a very amusing thing at Fort Smith
Is NOT q foot Of. paved street In the city, conse-
luentlv when 4 rains Il Is almost impossible 10
gei around, We'll. whiia ] was there 1 saw a
OF mules. One. man was doing the driving,
anotheE WAS using the oars. aud tho third was
70 DO pulling very hard. and the sight Caused
scst sMSgnt Of ehssrins froA the oidzsns
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25

end Of the string that no can't pull II ont again.
Piacing the can cover up on edge so that IL
may DO rolled like a wheel, he tits IL away from
strain on the string 10 prevent IL from falling
over. Then he cautiously sidles AWAY across lie
Of the string IN one hand. With the can cover
still slightly tilted, he gives the string an In
deseribable witch, and the little girl living
next door who hasn't got any can coyor q look
OF seorn, and away he goes .aeross town. Ha
goes across town, because the payements are
less obstructed that way. The unaccustomed
spectator locks to see the can cover drop into
line alter the manner OF. can covers tied 10
dog, tails but Il doesn't; It goes rolling along
how last he runs or how often he turns Il cor
nsr. This proceas would very soon tend to
abatinR his speed or the strain on the string,
the small boy allows the string 70 turn In his
hssp Anc hps keeps everything comfortable,
The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1887-12-25
THE CLEVER HARLEM BOZ.

mo Sen mako . I'm noH cover nou Along
Beside him Like = Thing OF Life.
If the Harlem boy wants something to play
with. 1t Is a very cold day when he gets left.
The toy that Is now in fashion is n model Of
cheapness and simplicity. 1t consists Of the
cover OF a tin baking powder can, with q string
five or six feet long attached. The Harlem boy
punches a small hole in the exact centre Of the
can cover. sticks the end Of the string through
the holo, and then tics such q big knot on the
The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-03
WANTS TAEIR NAM Es.

X Chicago correspondent. lady who has read many charming essay. before the Hogmalion Socioty. asks II we can furnish her with the names oi the authors of the following we'll known books:
 "fhe Adventures of Bohrack, or the Fish that Fell from Rose Bush"
 The Captains Rattle-Trap, or the Dish Pan Full ot Stcwed Fruit"
 STho lligh-ilmded Horse, or the Woman Who Grlnnel In her Sleep. T
 "Thc Alapaca Garment, or the Music that was Made by the Turning of Screw.'
 The Ghost of Mt. swnggle, or tho Elderly Gohileman Who Blew His Nose with Snort.'
 We nre compelled Ia acknow ledge an embarrassing ignorance. Not hav- ing kept up with the glittering pro cession of recent fiction moulders, we have not read all the works herein named and our reply can at best but stop far short of satisfaction. Count Tolstoi wrote "Thc Adventures of Babrock"- or more properly Babrock- al0f-just before putting on coffee . sack blouse and identifying himself with the cowboys. The work is cele- brated on account of its faithful pen pictures, having been largely illus trated with pen and Ink drawings, and hns. we learn from Mir Towels, attained sale of several cop ies. "Thc Captains Ihttlc-T Trap" comes from tine pen of Henry Jamcs, delicate young man who apes the English md who monkeys with skinned fiction. His novels breathe quiet air 4o quiet indeed that the more recent of hIs ef- forts have not made themselves heard "The High Headed Horse" was writ ten by Mir. Towels, western gentle man with an eastern digestion. He is now teacher, we understand, in II new brick school house. Here our information ceases to inform.
The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-03

seizing my hat, walked out into the yard. shortly afterward we set out for the church and was pleased to see that my host and his friends seemed to regret having contributed to my annoyance. My host even sol emnly shook hands with me, declar- ing that he was deeply grievei at what had occurred.
 A large congregation had assembled and thus encouraged, l entered the pulpit with the hope that might make good impression, but as soon as arose felt those plague talked flies on my head.
 "'There they are agin' yelled the red-eyed Doy, and my host. who few moments before had made mo such solemn assurances of regret, swclled up and snorted. l don't know how got through with that sermon. l don't think that there was minute during the discourse that didn't hear litter. When had pronounced the benediction, my host, with the ras- cally tears of mirth in his eyes, ex- tended me an invitation to accompany him home, but l declined, much pre- ferring to ride during half the night in older to be beyond the reach of ridicule. had ridden but short distance when some one called me. stopped.
 "It's me, boss. It's Masonic he, he,-de boy dat keeps de flies ofien de -te hn, he-table.'
 "'Well, what do you want l sternly demanded.
 "'I lowed dat mebbc yer'd like ter know what ailed dem flies whut made lem ack dater way--er haw, haw
 elf you know, you black rascal stop your idiotic tittering and tell me
 "'Yas, sah, I will Wy, CT W 'er yer wuz CT sleep CT dat red-eyed white boy slipped up and dobbed 'lasscs on yer head, CT haw, haw.'
 "Perhaps may meet that boy again and if do, his mother will never again smooth back his hair. He will have none" Opie 7. Read
The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-03
EUGENE FIELDS BOOK.

Eugene Fields book, "Cultum's Garland,' published by TickDor < Co.,, Boston, has made It's appearance. It is not the groove funny book" but abounds in careful and pleasing liter ary work book which, in the days of Tom Hood, would have won for Its author a place in that charming corD- pany of men who adorned English iit- erature with such bright coIors. From the preface to "Culture's Gar land," written by Julian Hawthorne, we take the following:
 The present little volume comprises mainly bubbling forth of delightful badinage and mischievous raiiIery, di- rected at some of the foibles and pre- tensions of his contemplating fellow townsmen; who, however, can by no means be allowed Co claim mo- nopoly of either the pretensioDs or the foibles herein exploited. Laugh, but look to yourself: mutnf0 nomine, de Ee fubuLa nn,vukuy. It Is q book which should, and doubtless will, at- tain 6 national popularity but ad- mirabie, and indeed irresistible, though 1t be in its way, ii repre- scnts very inconsiderabie fraction of the authors real capacity. We shall hear of Eugene Field in regions of lit- erature far above the aim and scope of these witty and wsggish sketches. But as the wise orator wins his audi ence st the outset of his speech by the human sympathy of a smile, Q .does our author, in these smiling pages, es- tablfsh genial relations with us, be- fore betsking himself to more ambi- tious flights. If he have half the con- fidence that his friends have in his power of wing, he will De far aioft ere long and then, as now, we shall all wish him God-speed-
The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-03
SHE WAS JEALOUS.

"Ef dar's CT thing in dis worp dat l 'spizc ter see, it's CT jealous lady," re- marked an old negro, addressing a white man who had stopped in the street and spoken to him. q suffers rum dat fack putty nigh ever day, fur my wife is so jealous dat she pear all de time ter be in misery"
 "Perhaps you give her cause to be jealous" the white man replied.
 "No, sah, doan; clare 'fo' good ness doan. Wy, sah, kain' take mon two drinks lessen she gifts ez jealous e CT fool"
 "She doubtless thinks that after taking whisky you are more likely to forget her"
 "Bless yer soul, dat lady doan kere whudder l furgits her or not. Some times Pse 'suaded dat she do wush I would furget her."
 "How, then, can she be jsalousf"
 Jealous O my drinkin', tells yer.'
 "Imagines that you like whisky better than you do her, I suppose"
 "Ain' I dun tole yer dat de lady doan kere whudder I likes her UT not!"
 "Yes, but"
 "Den wy yer keep on harpiR on de subjeck? I tells yer dat she's jeal- ous when drinks CT iittie.n
 "What do you mean by jealousy! What Is your idea of the meaning of the word?"
 "I means dat she acks CT blame fool w'eneber I gifts drunk. Oats whut I means. Humph, pear like de white folks dun furgit de lanwidge. De mo- schools. we has, de wus off da is. Arter while da won't know how ter talk CT tall"
The Arkansaw traveler., 1887-09-03

in the noontidc of our civilization must dcplor, We might have ~et tlrc to the tree. and then, having with. drawn to a safe if not thoroughly comfortable distance. we could have without uncasincss if not with com placency contemplated the agonics of Il conquest--Garland. oh, Garland. Bless mo if the attorney general hasn't gone to slcep'"